Client Red Flags II

I’m feeling like the guys Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson played against in White Men Can’t Jump. You know, the ones who were saying “This is too damn easy!” when they were dunking over their opponents in a 2-on-2 tournament.

Hi Jeff,
I guess I have to hold off for now. I talked to my husband who wants to do the yard himself and says we have no budget for a project. Maybe in the future I will be able to contact you again! Sorry!!!
(Name Withheld)

Looks like I was able to save my own life. About 2 hours of it, anyway.

You might like the following content from the Ground Trades Xchange, served by Google:

2 Comments Already

Funny stuff and some good points.
We have ramped up our efforts to quiz potential clients over the phone before we make an appointment.
Sometimes I can give average , ballpark pricing on simple things and see how they react.

With the opening of the retail store, we see quite a bit of shock in some people’s eyes when we explain what things cost.
And I’m not even going to go into too much discussion on the delivery services that we provide for mulch, gravel, etc. It seems that there are quite a few people who think that a delivery should be free!!

And that article was written awhile ago. Years ago I couldn’t even conceive of a prospective client calling me and after a brief chat, me saying “no thanks” and hanging up the phone. Even so, that’s what I’m doing about 20% of the time right now. I’ve spent enough years taking calls on going on appointments with just about every kind of client we’re going to see to know that certain kinds of work, certain kinds of clients just don’t pan out. And each year that sick-to-my-stomach feeling I get when I know I’m throwing away hours of my life on a bad lead just gets worse, so I try to screen prospective clients as thoroughly as I can now.

And while I don’t think I’m ever trying to “scare” a client when I talk price on the phone, I do want there to be as clear a picture as possible of what kind of expense they’re in for, and if the reaction suggests they’re swimming in waters out of their depth, I suggest we part ways for now and let them think about things a bit, and call back when they know they want X and are ready to spend $Y on it.